Cloudy Sunshine
by swaswj
Summary: Hinata is surprised to find Naruto on her doorstep, hoping to get her help. NaruHina


_m/f, rom_

_Cloudy Sunshine_  
_by Will_

"Oi, Hinata!"

The kunoichi gasped in shock at the sound of his voice. Hinata gulped, hesitantly turning back toward the door. "Na…," she started, quietly. She gulped again then went on, "Naruto…-kun?"

Naruto-kun quickly jogged under the awning and stood just a few feet away. His spiky blond hair was slicked down by the pouring rain and his bright orange jacket was dripping. He grinned at her, and she hurriedly looked away. She could feel her face burning.

Trembling nervously, Hinata tried to figure out what to say, what to do. She couldn't believe he was _right there_. She had to say something, but she couldn't even face his way. Why was he here? Could he be looking for her?

Hinata imagined throwing her arms around Naruto-kun, and knew her face was getting even redder. Would he freak out? Would he like it? The shy girl looked downward: he'd probably jump back, reject her. How could she compare to any of the other girls in Konoha? But what if..?

"Hey Hinata, are you alright?" Hinata squealed in surprise as Naruto-kun put his hand on her shoulder.

Embarrassed, she looked over her shoulder at him. His bright azure eyes looked at her with concern. _Say something! _she thought. "I'm… fine," she said quietly, fiddling with her fingers.

Naruto-kun raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Hinata? You look like you might have another fever…" He reached out to feel her forehead, but Hinata quickly shook her head.

"No! No… Naruto-kun," she said, gulping once more. "I'm just fine." Hinata glanced up to his eyes then quickly looked down again. Still fiddling with her fingers, the young girl tentatively raised her eyes to look at Naruto-kun. "Did you…need something?" she asked timidly. "Naruto-kun?"

Hinata averted her eyes again.

"I…need you to help me with something," Naruto-kun said with crossed arms. He was frowning and looking back in the direction he'd come. "Can I come in?"

Hinata gasped: he was still standing in the rain! "Of course!" she said hurriedly, bowing in apology. "I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun!" She bowed again and stepped out of his way.

"Thanks, Hinata," he said with a smile. The girl blushed furiously, keeping her head down. Naruto-kun set his soggy sandals next to Hinata's. Quietly, she asked him what he needed help with.

Again, he frowned as he looked off in the other direction. "Tsunade-baa-chan won't let me go on another mission! She says I need to learn better chakra control or I'll just hold everyone back!" Naruto-kun made somewhat of a growling noise. "Ero-sennin says that I should just use what I'm good at – he calls it stamina – but Tsunade-baa-chan says she doesn't care what he says, because he's Ero-sennin!"

Hinata giggled quietly, imagining the clash between Godaime and Naruto-kun.

Angrily shaking his fist in the Fifth's general direction, Naruto-kun went on. "Sakura-chan said she couldn't help me," he said, Hinata's small smile wilting a little, "but your father was there, too." Hinata nodded – he was there to receive his newest mission. "He said that you guys just got back from your mission and that I should ask you for help."

The girl blushed self-consciously. She was not only surprised to have her father recommend her, but also that Naruto-kun wanted her help. Before Hinata could think of what to say, Naruto-kun clasped his hands and bowed his head to her. "Would you please help me, Hinata?"

The kunoichi turned beet red and her eyes widened. At first embarrassed, Hinata then began to feel warm inside that she could be useful to Naruto-kun. She smiled brightly, then said, just a little louder than normal, "Of course I will, Naruto-kun!"

He lifted his head and smiled at her, causing her to quickly look away. "If you want…" she said quietly, "you can… leave your jacket here to dry." Naruto-kun looked down at himself in surprise, noticing the water dripping from his sleeves. Grinning sheepishly, he apologized and took off the jacket, leaving it next to his shoes.

Hinata was nervous at being almost alone in her home with Naruto-kun. Barefooted, they walked quietly through the halls, Hinata leading the way toward their study. Neji-nii-san was away on a mission, and her father was on his way to one, leaving only Hinata and Hanabi-nee-chan in the large house."

"Thank you, Hinata," Naruto-kun said as they were walking. "You really are a good person," he said, causing her heart to flutter. She twiddled with her fingers and grinned, but tried not to let him see it.

"Over here, Naruto-kun!" Hinata called softly from the other side of her father's study. Naruto-kun stood just inside the doorway, staring with wide eyes at all of the scrolls and books on the shelves. Embarrassed, Naruto-kun quickly walked over toward her, his bare feet slapping against the polished wood floors.

The blond-headed ninja quietly sat on the floor across from her. Eyes still roaming around, he finally let out an awed, "Wow…. There's as many scrolls here as at the entire Academy!"

Hinata smiled self-consciously, looking down at the floor. The Hyuuga family was old and well-established and, she hated to admit, somewhat elitist. For generations they had prided themselves on being the strongest in Konoha, and to that end they kept a large library of instructive texts and rare scrolls.

The kunoichi was afraid of making Naruto-kun nervous, though, so she didn't say any of that. Hinata didn't want her lofty family name to hurt their… friendship. The girl blushed as she realized that Naruto-kun was looking at her expectantly.

With a gulp, Hinata pulled over one of the scrolls she had grabbed on her way in. Quickly unfurling it on the floor in between them, Hinata started quietly trying to explain the basics of the tenketsu. She didn't dare look up into her blond-headed companion's eyes.

"Agh!" Naruto-kun cried out after several long moments, causing Hinata to jump back. She looked at him in shock, as he clutched his head with both hands. "How am I supposed to get all this stuff?"

Wringing her hands, Hinata quietly apologized, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun! I… shouldn't have…"

Naruto-kun looked up at her in confusion, and she quickly looked away. "No, you're not doing anything wrong, Hinata. It's just…" he said quickly, then hesitated. He shook his head angrily, letting out a frustrated growl.

Hinata's eyes shot open. "Naruto-kun!" she shouted, belatedly throwing out her hands to try and protect the scrolls. As he'd shaken his head, the ninja's still-wet hair had sent a small spray of droplets across the writing.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata!" Naruto-kun cried out, reaching forward as if to try and dry off the parchment. "Here, let me—"

Hinata threw out her hands. "No, wait!" she said, examining the scroll with concern. She desperately didn't want to ruin anything in her father's study, not when he was just beginning to have a better opinion of her. At last, though, she let out the stale breath she'd been holding. The droplets hadn't marred any of the writing, mostly landing on the margins of the paper.

Naruto-kun began apologizing again, "I'm sorry, Hinata, I didn't mean to—"

"I know, Naruto-kun," she said quietly. "It's ok, the scroll is fine," she added, giving him a tiny smile. She looked at his dripping blond hair with worry, though. "What if…," she started quietly with a gulp.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly, "why don't you…look from over my shoulder?" She glanced up at him briefly. "At least…until your hair dries?"

The blond nodded eagerly – this time Hinata was quick enough block the droplets with her hands – and then made a short hop over the scroll, causing Hinata to squeak in fear. "Naruto-kun!" she whined, glancing up at him. His face red, he gave another brief apology.

Quietly, he knelt down behind Hinata's shoulder, looking over her at the scroll. Taking a deep breath, she started again, trying to explain the basics of the tenketsu and how to control chakra. Most genin, her father had told her, didn't even know about the tenketsu. Even those that did could only form chakra from the tenketsu in their hands and feet, and then only a small amount.

The Hyuuga were special in that regard, her father was always quick to tell her. Hinata was already learning how to release chakra from different points in her body, and Neji-nii-san had almost mastered it! It felt so strange to be talking about the basics, to be trying to explain something she felt like she'd _always_ known.

Hinata glanced over her shoulder at Naruto-kun from time to time, each time he looked more frustrated than the last, but he didn't interrupt her and he listened attentively. Still, Hinata heard a low murmur of exasperation after most of an hour. Hinata looked down sadly, thinking she probably shouldn't have been the one chosen for the job. She wasn't sure how to show him in a way Naruto-kun would understand.

Then her eyes popped back up.

"Na…Naruto-kun," she began hesitantly.

"Eh?" he asked, looking at her expectantly.

Hinata turned a little more toward him. "H…hold out your arm… Naruto-kun."

Confused, he did as she asked. "Now… try to focus your chakra… into your hand," she instructed him quietly. With a low hum of effort, he did as she asked. Hinata closed her eyes and pulled in a breath, then quietly breathed out, "Byakugan!"

Opening her eyes, Hinata looked and saw everything. Looking into Naruto-kun's face scrunched in concentration, she could see his confusion, but also his fire, his determination, and his stubbornness. Starting to blush a little at the way seeing Naruto-kun like this was affecting her, Hinata moved on to the task at hand.

She followed the genin's blind surge of chakra up Naruto-kun's arm and picked out some of the tenketsu near his shoulder. Right now the chakra was just being forcibly shoved down his arm, much of it getting stuck or wasted. She reached up to the tenketsu, using some of her chakra to open them wider, the opposite of the typical Gentle Fist combat techniques.

Naruto-kun's azure eyes popped wide. "What..?"

"Shh…" Hinata said quietly, concentrating. "Do you… feel that? Naruto-kun?" When he nodded, she went on. "Now try to push your chakra… through those points that feel…like…they're bursting." The kunoichi smiled as Naruto-kun grunted in concentration, quickly realigning his chakra to flow directly through his tenketsu.

Hinata turned more fully toward him. She reached up with her other hand, cupping his hard bicep. She blushed furiously, but repeated the process, widening the next set of tenketsu. Without being told, Naruto-kun aimed his chakra through the newly opened chakra points. Hinata grinned proudly at the blond genin, impressed that he could get the hang of it so quickly.

Keeping his eyes closed in concentration, Naruto-kun continued channeling his chakra. Hinata knew that even Naruto-kun would tire out if this kept up too long, but she wanted to take her time. Slowly, she trailed her fingertips a little further down his arm, feeling his muscles, feeling the results of all his endless training, his determination, opening up more tenketsu.

Breathing slightly harder, Naruto-kun suddenly said, "I've never felt anything like this, Hinata! You're amazing!"

The girl's face turned beet red and she almost lost grip of her Byakugan. Smiling shyly, she continued moving down his arm, now passing his elbow. Outside, the rain pounded harder against the roof shingles while inside the lanterns flickered.

Hinata's heart was pounding against her chest as she flattened Naruto-kun's palm and placed her own against it. Naruto-kun's eyes flickered open briefly at her touch, but he continued concentrating on his chakra. "Na… Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered quietly, "Try… to send your chakra straight…out from your fingertips."

She watched as a few drops of sweat started to form on Naruto-kun's forehead. Grunting with the effort, the blond genin's chakra funneled, no longer flowing wildly, straight to his fingertips. After several long moments, and a few words of encouragement from Hinata, he finally managed to release a slight bit of chakra from his fingertips into hers.

Naruto-kun cheered. At last, he stopped channeling his chakra and dropped his arm, breathing heavily.

"Way to go… Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered proudly, pulling her hand back and dropping her Byakugan.

As Hinata fought against the pounding headache starting to form, Naruto-kun looked at her with concern. "Oi, Hinata…," he said, turning his head sideways, "do you need to rest? Your face is all red."

Hinata smiled shyly, looking away from him. "I'm fine, Naruto-kun," she said quietly. "Does…your arm hurt?"

The genin lifted his arm and flexed his hand a few times. "This is nothing! Dattebayo! I could handle ten times that!"

The kunoichi giggled softly, then turned around toward the unfurled scroll. She picked it up, then sat down and stretched her cramped legs out. "Naruto-kun..?" she said quietly, "Come and look at this now." He came and looked over her shoulder, breathing near to her ear. Hinata felt her heart start pounding against her chest once more and gulped.

The girl pointed at a long diagram she'd been trying to explain to Naruto-kun earlier. "See the points on the arm? Those… are the same ones I… just… opened up," she told him quietly. He made a sound of understanding, and she smiled. "Now… does the rest of the diagram make sense? Naruto-kun..?"

"Hai...," he said in awe. Hinata stiffened in shock as Naruto-kun sat on the floor right behind her. He stretched his legs out to each side of hers, his chin against her shoulder as he looked on at the scroll. Hinata felt her face flushing at the contact and struggled not to pass out.

"Na… Nar… Naruto..-kun?" she whispered between panicked pants.

Seeming not to hear her, Naruto-kun pointed at some tenketsu near the diagram's stomach and asked a question Hinata could barely hear over the blood rushing through her ears. Regaining a little control, Hinata answered him as best she could just before he pointed at another spot, near the feet.

The timid girl gradually relaxed as she and Naruto-kun went through the scroll. He asked so many questions she couldn't focus on how nervous she was. In fact, as she felt his rhythmic breathing and the heat of his body, she wished he would wrap his arms around her, too.

In the middle of a particularly long explanation, Hinata realized that Naruto-kun hadn't asked a question in a while. She looked over her shoulder only to find that he had fallen asleep against her shoulder. _Oh Naruto-kun_, she thought, looking at him longingly. Slowly, hesitantly, she leaned her head in. _What would…happen if I kissed him..? _

Hinata backed away before her lips reached him. She was too afraid of how he would react. The sound of him saying Sakura-_chan_ rang painfully through her mind.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, even quieter than normal. "Thank you… for trusting me. You've… helped me and… inspired me in so many ways." She paused, at last adding, "I…really like being useful to… being near to you… Naruto-kun."

The girl let out a sharp gasp as Naruto-kun's hand cupped hers and squeezed gently. Groggily, he whispered into her ear, "I really like being dear to you, too… Hinata-chan."

_Happy birthday, Garret._


End file.
